Behind the Mask
by Fallen Quills
Summary: A mask is just that; a smooth layer used to hide what is beneath the surface. But what happens when this protective layer is removed? Set in Prisoner of Azkaban, but will continue through the rest of the books.
1. New Guards

**A/N: I know that this has been done about a million times, but due to loving both Naruto and Harry Potter, I couldn't resist. I also seem to really like these (multiple) stories, and am trying to read them all… unintentionally. So here's my attempt! Hope you enjoy it! ^^**

**Oh, and I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

Tsunade sat back, re-reading the scroll in her hand. She sighed, and then raised her voice slightly, calling for somebody.

"Fox!" A blonde haired person appeared immediately in front of her. He was wearing black clothing, silver armour, a cape and a white snarling mask depicting a fox. A sword was strapped to his back, and he stood tensely to attention.

"Gather a team of 7, excluding yourself. You have a new mission. Then arrive back here, with your team, immediately. Be packed for a year." Fox nodded, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Who's the mission from?" asked Shizune, holding a struggling Ton-Ton. Tsunade's mouth mashed into a straight, grim line, and she tossed the scroll over to her. Shizune put down the pig, and picked up the letter, reading it carefully.

"No…" she breathed quietly.

_At Kings Cross Station…_

Harry was swept up by the tide of commuters heading for their trains, struggling to keep up with the Weasleys and Hermione. Eventually he managed to break through and walked through the barrier separating the muggles from platform 9 and ¾, hurrying slightly. As he was about to board the train, Mr Weasley caught his arm and pulled him away from earshot of the others.

"Harry. I don't know how much you know, but knowing you it is bound to be quite a lot. So, I don't want you to go looking for Black. Stay safe, and don't go looking for trouble." Harry opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again as he saw the stern look of Mr Weasley and nodded instead.

"Good man. Now, quickly get onto the train, you don't want to be late." Harry nodded again, heaving his trunk and Hedwig's cage onto the steam train. As he shut the door, a movement caught his eye and he saw a flash of white. Shrugging and putting it out of his mind, he followed Hermione and Ron as they wandered through the carriages looking for an empty apartment. Eventually they came to a near empty one, with a man leaning against the window dressed in shabby clothing. They sat down gingerly, but when they decided that he was definitely asleep, they started talking.

About a quarter of the way into their journey, the door slid silently open and a masked figure wearing a white cloak slipped in, unnoticed at first. Suddenly Hermione spotted whoever it was.

"Um… sorry, we, uh, we didn't see you. My name's Hermione Granger, and this is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley," she said, indicating the two boys who were openly staring at the person. Said person snorted quietly, and fixed cold blue eyes on the girl.

"Fox. ANBU captain."

"What's ANBU?" The figure named Fox stared at her, and an uncomfortable silence filled the compartment.

"You ask too many questions, and give away too much valuable information." With that, Fox stared at the wall straight ahead of him, and gradually the golden trio began to talk again. Suddenly, the train stopped. The lights went out, and no one (apart from Fox of course) could see a thing. The door slid open, and Fox saw a young girl and a slightly older boy come into the compartment, tripping over feet on the way.

"OW! Who's there?"

"It's me, Ginny."

"Neville."

"Everyone, be quiet!" The man who was asleep had woken up, and had lit his wand.

"What's going on?" Harry demanded, relieved at the glow from the wand tip. He could see Fox sitting in the corner and looking tense. The man shook his head. Fox fingered his kunai, unsure of what was going on and not liking it. He could sense a mass of energy coming their way, similar to chakra but not quite the same. It was coming towards them, and soon the compartment door was opening again for the third time that journey. A floating, grey hooded figure entered the room. It swooped towards Harry and seeing his charge in potential danger, Naruto flung a kunai at the creature. It stopped the sucking thing it was doing and turned towards him. Suddenly, Fox was watching the time when everyone in the village hated him and scorned him, when he attended the Sandaime's funeral, each time he had fought with Sasuke, Hinata pinned to the ground in front of Pein, when he had just got the news that Jiraiya had been killed, the fourth shinobi war in which so many lost their lives…

Fox's knees buckled and he fell to the floor, hitting his knees in the process. This jolted his memory, and he instantly formed the release seal that worked for genjutsus. He dimly heard someone shouting something, and suddenly he was staring at the floor of the compartment. A face swam into view, and as it focused he realised it belonged to the man.

"Are you alright?" Fox stared incomprehensibly at the man. "I guess not. You must have had a lot of bad memories… here, take this." He offered Fox a piece of chocolate. Fox stared at it for a moment, before getting shakily to his feet. Glancing around, he saw that the other occupants were watching Harry, who had fallen in his seat. Without a word, Fox ghosted out of the compartment and sped along the corridor of the train until he reached the compartment where the rest of the shinobi were travelling, and found them in a similar state. He made his way to a seat and collapsed into it.

"_What… what the hell was that?" _He asked Stag, who was uncharacteristically alert.

"_I believe that they were the other guards Dumbledore-sama mentioned. Although, he did not say that they were genjutsu wielders… troublesome man."_

"_Hm. Well, if they're going to be here for the rest of the mission, we're going to have to try to avoid them. Do we know anything about them, other than that they use genjutsu?"_

"_No."_

"_Well, when we arrive at Hogwarts you and Slug research them. If they affect us like that, then I don't want to take any chances." _Stag nodded, and Slug gave a muttered 'hai' from the corner.

Eventually the train pulled to a stop outside of Hogwarts, and they guards rushed off to the building, apart from Fox who remained to watch unnoticed as Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed into a carriage, pulled by a creature known as a thestral- Fox had asked the teachers about them the previous day, and was met by scared glances. He then found out why he received the strange looks, after learning that you could only see them if you had seen death. As the Golden Trio left the carriage, a boy with pale hair and a pointed chin stepped up to the three of them. Fox watched from the shadows as the boy- identified as Malfoy- proceeded to taunt Harry about fainting. Fox gave a soft snort. If the boy ever found out about what had happened to him, then he would have a field day. As the argument escalated, Fox sighed and stepped out from where he was hiding. He was given the satisfaction of making Malfoy jump.

"Is there are problem?" He asked Malfoy pointedly. Malfoy shook his head. "Good. Then I suggest you move along," Fox continued, picking at his fingernails with a senbon for added effect. Malfoy took one look at the weapon and scarpered. Harry turned to thank Fox, but the shinobi was nowhere to be seen.

"That was… weird," he commented. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement, and they made their way up the steps. However, before the three of them could enter the hall McGonagall stopped them.

"Mr Potter, Miss Granger, if you could just come with me a minute. It's quite alright, Mr Weasley, I just want a quick word with them." Harry shrugged to Ron and the aforementioned two left him to stand staring after them in the entrance to the Great Hall, before the crowd jostled him inside.

After an awkward talk with McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey (yes, Harry was _perfectly _fine) and being shooed out into the corridor whilst Harry waited for McGonagall to finish speaking with Hermione, the three of them returned to the hall, slipping in and sitting down quietly.

"Oh no, we missed the sorting," said Hermione dejectedly, peering round the hall.

"Never mind that, who do you think they are?" Harry asked, pointing up to the Teacher's table. Ten figures, looking very much like Fox, were sitting there impassively. Even though they were inside, their cloaks remained on and their hoods remained up, so that very little of their bone white masks could be seen. Dumbledore stood up, and after a few well-chosen words the plates before them filled with food. Harry, Ron and Hermione peered closely at the unusual figures at the end of the table to see how the responded to the food, but their plates and goblets remained empty. They returned to their own plates quietly, and eventually the plates were cleared again. Dumbledore stood up once more, and the chatter died away instantly.

"Now, welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before I let you go up to your warm and comfortable beds, I would like to make a few announcements.

'First, it is my deepest sorrow to tell you that Professor Kettleburn has retired from his position of Care of Magical Creatures to spend more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to announce that Professor Hagrid will be filling in his post." This was greeted to wild applause from the Gryffindor table, with Ron commenting on how only Hagrid would set them biting books.

"I would also like to introduce Professor Lupin, who shall be our defence against the dark arts teacher this year." There was quieter applause to this, and Lupin gave a tired wave. "As you are also aware, we have some new guards this year. You have already seen the Dementors. For those of you who do not know, they are extremely unforgiving, and do not distinguish between friend or foe. Therefore, I suggest you keep away from them. I will let the other guards introduce themselves." With that, he stepped back slightly as the robed creatures vanished only to reappear with a poof and a lot of white smoke in front of the long table.

"Fox- captain."

"Eagle- vice captain."

"Stag- strategist."

"Slug- Medic."

"Peacock- Medic."

"Cat- Scout."

"Panda- Weapons mistress."

"Wolf- scout. And this is my partner, Dog." He patted the large white dog next to him, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"No shit," he muttered quietly. Wolf's eyes met him immediately, and Dog gave a low growl. Ron gulped- surely he hadn't heard him from over there? Dumbledore stood up again as the eight of them melted back into the shadows.

"They shall have the same powers of the teachers, and I believe that they will want to lay down some rules, and as you all have a day full of learning tomorrow, I suggest you all go to bed now. Goodnight!" The shinobi watched as the students scrambled to the door from their various hiding places. As soon as the last person had left, they received a signal from Fox and all of them poofed out of the hall and into their various posts. Fox smirked as a knot of Gryffindors jumped at his sudden appearance. He leant against the fireplace and waited for silence to blanket the common room, pulling his hood off as he did so. When the chatter eventually died down, he straightened up slightly.

"Right. It wasn't mentioned in the opening speech, but we have a few rules which are in your best interests to keep. Number 1: Don't underestimate us. We won't appreciate it."

"Number 2," Stag said quietly, the Ravenclaws listening with the utmost attention. "No leaving you dormitory or common room after 9. It's a pain for us to come and find you again."

"Three," Panda said, the Hufflepuffs watching her twirling kunai with apprehensive eyes, "If you see or hear anything suspicious, tell one of us immediately."

"Four," Eagle said in an icy voice, causing the Slytherines to shiver. " No annoying us. Got it?" He watched with twisted humour as the students nodded woodenly at his made up rule. He had gotten tired of Slytherine's attitude after only five minutes. He could tell that it was going to be a long mission.

**So? Like it, love it, hate it? Tell me what you think! XD**

**Fallen Quills**


	2. Auras and Omens

When Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall the next day, the first thing that they saw was Draco Malfoy and a group of other Slytherines laughing about something. As the three passed them Malfoy did a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit which was rewarded with gales of laughter from the surrounding Slytherines.

"Ignore him Harry, just ignore him. He's not worth it," muttered Hermione.

"Hey, Potter, watch out for the Dementors!" Pansy Parkinson shrieked, before squealing as a guard suddenly appeared next to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry recognised the guard as Panda and was alarmed to see her take out a large, pointed knife and start twirling it in her fingers almost absentmindedly.

"I suggest," she said in a low and cold voice, "that you all get on with your breakfasts. You wouldn't want to be late now, would you?" Pansy Parkinson paled and ducked out of sight. Panda followed Harry, Ron and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"New third year timetables," said George, passing them over. "George Weasley," he added, addressing the guard. He held out his hand but let it fall away as the guard stared disdainfully at it.

"Anyway, what's up with you, Harry?" asked Fred as he spread liberal amounts of jam on his toast.

"Malfoy," replied Ron simply, glaring at the Slytherine table.

"That little git," George said calmly. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the Dementors were down our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself. And, apparently, he's not so big when around the other guards either- no offence, of course," he added to Panda. Panda inclined her head slightly.

"Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match," said George. "Gryffindor versus Slytherine, first match of the season remember?"

"What's Quidditch?" Five heads swivelled in Panda's direction who, up until that point, had not spoken.

"Do you not have Quidditch where you come from?" Ron asked incredulously. The guard shook her head.

"Oh. Well, it's uh, it's a game." Harry said, before embarking on the rules of Quidditch, Ron, George and Fred interrupting him every so often. Twenty minutes later Panda was no longer listening, but they were still talking. She idly fingered her kunai holster on her leg, thinking about how easy these wizard kids had it. Suddenly, Hermione interrupted them all.

"Ooh, good, we're starting some of our new subjects today," she said happily.

"Hermione," Ron said as he lent over her shoulder to look at her timetable, "they've messed up your timetable. Look- it says you're doing Divination, Muggle Studies _and _Arithmancy all at the same time today! I know you're good, but no one's that good."

"Ron, I've cleared it all with McGonagall."

"But how're you meant to be in three classes at once?"

"Don't be silly, no one can be in three places at o-"

"Yes they can." Again, five heads turned to stare at Panda.

"What?" asked George. Panda deadpanned at George's question.

"It's fairly easy to be in two places at once." There was silence. Luckily, just then Hagrid entered the Hall, wearing his usual moleskin overcoat and swinging a dead polecat from one of his gigantic hands.

"All righ'? Jus' been gettin' yer lesson all sorted out… yer me first one, see, straight after lunch. Anyway, see yer later." With that he left to continue up to the teacher's table, his dead polecat still swinging from his hands.

"Wonder what he's been getting ready?" said Ron as a note of anxiety crept into his voice. Harry and Hermione gave non-committal grunts and the three of them left the table, Panda ghosting along silently behind them.

The journey to the North Tower was longer than expected. Two years hadn't taught them everything about the castle, and neither of them had ever been to the North Tower before.

"There's- got- to- be- a short- cut," Ron panted as they climbed their seventh long staircase. The only one who was not panting or clutching a stich was Panda, who was secretly enjoying the exercise. They emerged onto an unfamiliar landing, with a painting of a bare stretch of grass hanging in front of them.

"I think it's that way," said Hermione as she peered down the empty passage to the right.

"No, that's south, you can see a bit of the lake out of the window," Ron said as he too looked down that side of the passage way. Harry was ignoring them and watching the painting. A fat, dappled grey pony had just ambled its way onto the grass, grazing nonchalantly. A moment later a short, squat night appeared in the picture alongside the horse. By the look of the grass stains on his metal knees, he had evidently just fallen off his horse.

"Aha!" he yelled, seeing Harry, Ron, Hermione and Panda. "What villains are these that trespass upon my private lands? Come to scorn at my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you dogs!" They watched in astonishment as the little knight took his sword out of his scabbard and brandished it violently, hopping from foot to foot. There was a silent swish as Panda withdrew her tanto.

"Oho! A challenger!" A particularly wild swing sent the small knight toppling over. Panda sweat dropped. '_It's just like Lee… or Gai-sensei_,' she thought before moving closer to the picture.

"I have a… challenge for you. If you succeed, I will teach you how to use your sword," she attempted to bargain with the knight, using all of her past experience of dealing with Gai-sensei and Lee. The Knight scrambled to his feet again, the little of his face that was visible beneath his visor red with rage.

"I, Sir Cadogan, do not need _teaching _in the craft of swordsmanship. I will have you know that I am highly skilled in that area of expertise."

"As am I. I can use any weapon… nunchucks, shuriken, kunai, tanto, swords, staffs, sickle and chains…" she trailed off, a slight lustfulness entering her tone as she listed her weapons. She then returned rather abruptly to her previous cold, brisk manner. "But if you aren't up to the challenge…"

"No! I, Sir Cadogan, never decline quests! What service is it that you require?"

"The quickest route to the North Tower."

"Aha! Follow me, my dear friends, and we shall find our goal or perish bravely in the charge!" He attempted to mount the pony again, but promptly failed. "On foot then, good sirs, gentle lady and fellow noble sword master! On! On!" And he ran left out of his portrait, his armour clanking loudly, and out of sight. The four of them hurried after him down the corridor, following the sounds of his armour. Every now and then they caught a glimpse of him running into a picture ahead. He led them to a large spiral staircase and rocketed up it. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Panda followed him, the former three puffing loudly as the step got more and more tightly spiralled, until at last they heard the murmur of voices above them and they knew they had reached the classroom.

"Farewell, my comrades!" Sir Cadogan cried as he reappeared in a picture of some sinister looking monks. "If you ever have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan! And," he added, looking towards Panda, "if you ever need someone to teach you how to wield a sword professionally-"

"I'll ask my sensei." With that the four of them climbed the last few steps and emerged onto a small landing where most of the class was already assembled. There were no doors off this landing; Ron nudged Harry and pointed at the ceiling where there was a circular trapdoor with a brass plaque on it.

"Sybil Trelawney, Divination teacher," Harry read. How're we supposed to… whoa!" he broke off as he saw Panda standing calmly on the ceiling. She smirked underneath her mask as she saw the students staring at her, and then opened the trapdoor. A silvery ladder descended and Panda disappeared inside the classroom. Everyone was quiet.

"After you," said Ron, grinning, so Harry climbed the ladder first.

He emerged into the strangest looking classroom he had ever seen. In fact, it didn't look like a classroom at all; more like a cross between someone's attic and an old fashioned teashop. At least twenty small, circular tables were crammed inside it, all surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little pouffes. The closed curtains bathed everything in a soft, crimson light, and the room was stiflingly warm. The fire that was burning gave off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume. From her hiding place, Panda balked. It was twice as strong for her, and there was no way that Wolf should be made to sit in the room. She watched as the class stood in the room, before flickering her eyes to where Trelawney was hiding, also watching the students.

"Where is she?" asked Ron, and Panda watched wryly as Trelawney deemed that the time to appear from her hidden corner.

"Welcome," she said in a soft misty voice. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last." Trelawney moved into view of the students, and Panda deadpanned as she got her first proper look at the teacher. Her first impression was of a large, glittering insect. As Professor Trelawney moved into the firelight, Panda saw that she was very thin with her eyes magnified to several times their natural size due to her enormous glasses. She was draped in a gauzy spangled shawl and numerous chains and beads hung from her spindly neck. Bangles and rings encrusted her arms and fingers.

"Sit, my children, sit, and would our guard like to join us as well?" Panda's eyes narrowed. How did the insect-woman know that she was there? She moved into the light but sat down at the back, away from the rest of the students as they climbed awkwardly onto pouffes or armchairs.

"Welcome to Divination," said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending into the hustle and bustle of the school too often clouds my Inner Eye." Panda snorted softly, but apart from that nobody said anything. Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued. "So you have chosen to study Divination, perhaps the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, then there is not much I can do for you. Books will not help much in this subject…" as she droned on, Panda felt her mind numbing over. _'Seriously,' _Panda thought, _'she's absolutely ridiculous. There's no way you can predict the future.'_ Suddenly, the mystical voice interrupted her thoughts as it rose slightly in volume.

"You boy," Trelawney said suddenly, pointing to Neville who almost fell off his pouffe. "Is your grandmother quite well?"

"I… I think so," said Neville tremulously. Panda zoned out again, a kunai finding its way into her fingers again and she started to twirl it. Soon the students were getting teacups from the shelves and getting them filled with tea. As they were swapping them and 'reading' the soggy tea leaves at the bottom, Trelawney sank faintly into her armchair.

"Professor? Are you alright?" asked Lavender concernedly. Panda rose, gripping her kunai tightly in her hand and searching for any threat.

"You, my dear… my poor, poor dear." Panda was alarmed to see the teacher point at her. "I am so sorry… perhaps I shouldn't… no, it would be best not to tell…"

"Tell me what?"

"I am afraid…. I am afraid to tell you that you have an aura of bloodshed and death about you." There was stunned silence, and then to everyone's astonishment Panda flicked her kunai back into her holster and disappeared, only to reappear behind Trelawney.

"Don't you think that that was slightly obvious, no?" she asked and the rest of the class remained silent. Panda glared at them all. "Shouldn't you be working?" The students jumped and went back to their teacups.

"Right," said Harry as he peered into the soggy brown mess at the bottom of Ron's teacup. "It looks like you've got a wonky cross, which means," he paused as he consulted _Unfogging_ _the_ _Future_. "That you're going to have trials and suffering- sorry about that- but there's this thing that looks like a sun, which means happiness. So you're going to suffer, but be happy about it." Harry frowned. " That can't be right…"

"Sounds like you need your Inner Eye testing, if you ask me," and Ron and Harry had to stifle their giggles as Panda and Trelawney looked over at them.

"My turn. Well, this blob here could be a bowler hat, so does that mean you're going to become minister of magic?"

"Give that here," said Trelawney as she swept by, swiftly taking the cup from Ron's hands. She peered into it and shrieked. Panda was over in a flash but retreated once she saw that there was no real threat.

"My dear… no, it would be kinder not to say." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Not this again. Let me say, he has an aura of death and blood? Or perhaps a great enemy?" Hermione asked sarcastically.

"My dear… you have the Grim." Harry frowned.

"What's the Grim?"

"The Grim, my dear, is an omen… an omen of death." With that particular statement (and another near silent snort from Panda) the bell rang, signalling the end of the class. The students quickly packed away their things, and descended the silvery ladder. Harry did all of this numbly, Trelawney's words echoing inside of his head.

**A/N: Okay, so this is a day late, but ah well. Thanks for all of the reviews! I think that's the most I have ever received for a new story. It made me very happy. And for all those who are confused, these are who the guards are:**

**Fox- Naruto**

**Stag- Shikamaru**

**Eagle- Neji**

**Panda- Tenten**

**Slug- Sakura**

**Peacock- Ino**

**Cat- Hinata**

**Wolf- Kiba **

**Dog- Akamaru (I couldn't resist! XD)**

**Please Review!**

**Fallen Quills.**


	3. Buckbeak the Hippogriff

It was a subdued third year class that made its way from the Trelawney's tower to the transfiguration classroom that day. Harry chose a seat towards the back of the classroom, away from the curious glances thrown his way. Panda also settled at the back of the classroom, although she looked as if she couldn't care about the furtive looks shot her way. Harry, however, hardly heard what Professor McGonagall was telling them about Animagi, and didn't even notice when she turned into a cat and back.

"Really, what has got into all of you today? Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got a round of applause from a class." Everyone's heads swivelled to the back where Harry and Panda were. The Hermione raised her hand.

"Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class and-"

"Ah, of course," interrupted McGonagall, frowning. "There is no need to tell me anymore, Miss Granger. Who is going to die this year?" Everyone stared at her.

"Me," said Harry, finally. "And Panda," he added as an afterthought. The guard at the back snorted loudly. As one, the heads of the class turned to stare at her.

"What? What she said was no prediction, but common sense!"

"I see," said McGonagall, ignoring the guard. "Then you should know, Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has been predicting the death of a student a year since she arrived at the school. None of them have died yet. You look in excellent health to me, Mr Potter and you Panda do not seem that concerned. So, if you excuse me, I shall not be letting you off homework today. However, Potter, should you die I assure you that you do not need to hand it in." Hermione laughed and Panda snorted again. Harry felt a bit better, and the rest of the lesson went smoothly.

When the class finished, they joined the crowd thundering towards the Great Hall for lunch.

"Ron cheer up, you heard what McGonagall said," said Hermione, pushing a plate of stew towards him. "It's all a load of rubbish. Panda, would you like some stew?" she asked politely.

"No."

"When do you eat?" asked Harry suddenly. He had never seen the guards touch a single plate of food since they had been there.

"We eat later." That was that, and the three wizards ate their lunch. As they finished, another guard, the one with the huge dog, appeared and tapped Panda on the shoulder. The female guard stood up.

"_Fox said it's time to swap. Anything that I need to know?"_

"_Don't go in to Trelawney's room. It stinks."_

"_I'll try and avoid it then." _Panda poofed away and Wolf sat down. The dog behind him whined, and Wolf scratched his ears. There was an awkward silence.

"Harry," said Ron slowly. "You haven't seen a big black dog anywhere, have you?"

"Yeah, I have. I saw one on the night I left the Dursleys." Ron let his fork fall with a clatter.

"Probably a stray," said Hermione mater of factly.

"Hermione, if Harry's seen a Grim, that's- that's bad. My- my Uncle Bilius saw one and- and died twenty-four hours later!"

"Coincidence," said Hermione airily, pouring herself some pumpkin juice.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" said Ron, starting to get angry. "Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"

"What, the sight of a large dog? Man, where I come from the sight of a large dog isn't going to do anything. My entire clan works with them, and not all of them have white fur like Dog here," interjected Wolf, and Dog yipped behind him. "Potter-kun, if you see a big scary dog let me know and I'll set Dog on him, got it?" Wolf continued, almost mockingly.

"Got it." Ron scowled and Hermione buried her nose in her Arithmancy book.

"That lesson was absolute rubbish compared to Arithmancy anyway," commented Hermione, still reading her book.

"Well that's just because Professor Trelawney said that you don't have the right aura. You just don't like being rubbish at something for a change."

"If being good at Divination means that I have to pretend to be able to see death omens in a teacup, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer!" With that she shoved her book back into her bag and stalked off.

"How does she know that Arithmancy's better anyway? She hasn't taken it yet," said Ron, looking confused.

0o0o0o0

Harry was pleased to be outside after lunch that day. Ron and Hermione weren't talking to each other as they and Wolf crossed the grounds towards Hagrid's hut, Wolf allowing Dog to bound ahead and greet Fang, who cowered at the sight of the much larger dog. A group of Slytherines, Malfoy among them, were already standing by the hut talking animatedly. Hagrid was waiting for them to arrive, looking impatient for them to start.

"C'mon now, get a move on! Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up. Everyone here? Right, follow me!" For one nasty moment Harry thought that they would be going into the forest, but instead Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees and five minutes later they were standing outside a kind of empty paddock.

"Everyone gather round the fence here!" he called, and Wolf said something in Japanese, causing Dog to leave Fang and come and stand by his owner. "That's it- make sure yeh can see. Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books-"

"How?" came the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. Wolf resisted the urge to punch the boy and instead stared impassively at him, folding his arms.

"Eh?"

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated, taking out his copy of the Monster book of Monsters as he did so. Wolf shifted interestedly; he had never seen a book move before. Other students pulled out their books, all bound somehow by belts, Spellotape and rope.

"Hasn'- hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" asked Hagrid, looking crestfallen. The class shook their heads. "Yeh've got ter _stroke _them," said Hagrid, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Look…" He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite him, but Hagrid ran a forefinger down the spine of the book, causing it to shiver and then fall open and quiet in his hand.

"Oh how silly we've been!" sneered Malfoy. "We should have _stroked _them! Why didn't we guess?" He caught sight of Wolf bearing down on him, running a senbon along his fingers, and paled. Wolf smirked, and Dog rumbled quietly in his chest.

"Anyway… so yeh've… yeh've got yer books an'… an'… now yeh need the animals. Yeah. I'll go get them. Wait here." He strode away into the Forest and out of sight. The class was silent, now that they remembered that Wolf was there. Then…

"Ooooh!" squealed Lavender, pointing towards the opposite end of the paddock.

Trotting towards them was a dozen of the most bizarre things Wolf had ever seen- including the talking ostrich that Naruto had the task of catching all those years ago. It was like several summons all merged together- they had the body of a horse, but the front legs, wings and beaks of a giant eagle. Dog growled, and Wolf patted him reassuringly. Hagrid came jogging into the paddock behind them.

"Gee up there," he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures towards the fence where the class stood. As Hagrid neared them, the class shrank back and the creatures were tethered to the fence.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand towards them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?" Wolf blinked. How were they beautiful? Something with a razor sharp beak and talons like senbon? He didn't want to be on the receiving end of that.

"So," said Hagrid, clapping his hands together and beaming. "If yeh wan ter come a bit nearer…"No one moved. Then, Harry, Ron and Hermione approached the fence cautiously.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know is that…" Wolf zoned out as Hagrid talked about how to treat the Hippogriffs. His eyes flickered over to where Malfoy and his cronies stood talking, not paying attention. He ghosted over there until he was standing directly behind Malfoy, and leaned down so that his breath tickled the back of Malfoy's neck.

"If I were you," he said, his voice low and dangerous, "I would pay attention to what Hagrid-san is saying, don't you think?" Malfoy gulped and nodded. "Good," murmured Wolf before returning to his place towards the back of the class, absentmindedly scratching Dog behind his ears and watching as Harry nervously bowed to the hippogriff, which lowered its head in an unmistakable bow.

"Well done, Harry!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right- yeh can touch him now! Pat his beak, go on!"

Harry tentatively patted the Hippogriff on the beak, and Wolf tipped his head back, bored. The Hippogriff (or Buckbeak, as it was called) closed its eyes lazily as if it was enjoying the petting. Wolf closed his eye as well, taking in the smells around him.

"Righ' then Harry, I reckon he migh' let you ride him!" Upon hearing Hagrid's sentence, Wolf's eyes snapped open. _Please no, please don't ride that thing… _Wolf thought desperately. Harry, too, seemed to be reluctant.

"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," continued Hagrid, "an' mind that yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' thank yeh for that…" Harry put his foot on top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted himself up, just as Buckbeak stood up. Wolf's heart sank.

"_Come on Dog, let's go follow them," _Wolf said to Dog in Japanese as he sat on the canine's back. Luckily, however, all Buckbeak did was fly once around the paddock before landing back on the ground. Emboldened by Harry's success, the rest of the class surged into the paddock at Hagrid's signal and soon people were bowing to the large bird-like creatures. Wolf stood up, vaulting over the paddock. He didn't go near the hippogriffs; they seemed to be a little skittish whenever he approached them. Instead, he stood in the corner and observed, watching as Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle took over Buckbeak. Harry watched the others as well, standing near Wolf, but the guard made no move to go over to him and so Harry left the guard alone as well.

"This is very easy," said Malfoy as he patted Buckbeak disdainfully. "I mean, it must have been, if Potter could do it… I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you, you ugly great brute." What happened next was so fast that Harry's eyes couldn't follow it. There was a flash of steely talons, and Malfoy was writhing on the ground a few metres away from Buckbeak. Wolf was standing opposite the hippogriff, clutching a deep gash in his leg. He looked at it, deemed it not very serious, and walked over to where Malfoy was squirming on the ground, his arm also cut.

"I'm dying, I'm dying!"

"You're not dying, you baka. Let me see your arm." Malfoy didn't hear him, still shrieking on the ground. Wolf sighed and turned to Dog.

"Go and get Slug or Peacock." The huge dog woofed and bounded away and Wolf returned his attention back to Malfoy. "Let me see your arm," he said, taking a hold of it and pushing up the robe sleeve. Wolf eyed it critically, and there was a light breeze as Dog returned, Slug in tow.

"What happened?" she asked Wolf, ignoring Malfoy.

"That baka provoked that," Wolf pointed at Buckbeak, "and it attacked him. It's just a scratch, but he won't shut up."

"Fine. I'll deal with him. You first though."

"I don't need healing, it's just a scratch." Wolf then proceeded to take out a bandage from the pouch near his back and bandage the wound up. Slug turned to Malfoy, who was still moaning.

"Listen to me, you little gaki. I am going to heal you, but you have to stay still." She was ignored. "Fine. I'll have to slap you." The short, sharp sound of the slap resonated throughout the forest, and finally Malfoy was silent. The rest of the class looked on curiously as Slug's hands glowed green and hovered over Malfoy's arm. Before their very eyes, the cut healed itself.

"There. Although, I can't see what all the fuss is about, I've had genin less whiney than you." She straightened up, and then unbandaged Wolf's leg before healing it in the same way as she did with Malfoy's arm. Malfoy was still complaining, and Slug turned on him, her voice cold and emotionless.

"You. Come here." Malfoy did so, going quiet. "You have no reason to be complaining. When I worked in the hospital, I used to have kids come in younger than you with their limbs half off, and they didn't complain as much as you did. Carry on like that and I'll show you what a _real _injury is." Slug hissed, and Malfoy paled. Slug then looked at Wolf, who had a bored expression on his face.

"See you later!" she said, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Righ'… well then, class dismissed," said Hagrid, at a complete loss. The class made their way back to the castle and Wolf followed, Dog lolloping behind him.

**A/N: Here you go. Chapter numero tres. Next up: The boggart!  
Okay, there are some questions I want to ask, but they contain a few spoilers: If Nagato was part of the Uzumaki clan, then would Naruto therefore potentially able to inherit the rinnegan? And also, what does the rinnegan **_**do**_**? 'Cos the Byakugan and sharingan both have abilities that you can see and know what happens, but I'm never sure what the rinnegan does. **

**Please Review!**

**Fallen Quills.**


	4. Facing off the Boggart

The excitement of the Care of Magical Creatures did not die down until later on in the week. News of the cuts that Malfoy and Wolf sported flew through the school like wildfire, aided and abetted by Malfoy himself. For the rest of that week, Wolf suffered piteous glances, especially to his leg, and people constantly coming up to him and asking if he was alright. The other guards found his discomfort highly amusing and constantly mocked him. By Thursday, enough was enough and Wolf snapped at the two first years that had approached him, leaking a little killing intent as he did so and reducing them to the verge of tears. After that, people left him alone.

However, despite Wolf's troubles, Hagrid's were much worse. Malfoy, furious that his attention-seeking efforts had been laid to waste, had written to his father complaining about the injury, and the slap from Slug. As such, Lucius Malfoy was on the figurative warpath, complaining to not only the board of governors, but also to the Ministry. Dumbledore had received an owl regarding both the hippogriff and the guards, and as such Fox, Slug and Wolf found themselves standing before the headmaster.

"Wolf, if you would so kindly like to inform me exactly what happened in the hippogriff enclosure regarding Master Malfoy?" Wolf sighed imperceptibly, before launching into a quick, rapid account of what had happened.

"Malfoy-kun was antagonizing the hippogriff, contrary to the instructions Hagrid-san had provided. The hippogriff then reacted, preparing to harm Malfoy-kun. I pushed Malfoy-kun out of the way, but he was still injured." The snort in Wolf's tone indicated what he thought of the so-called 'injury'.

"I see. And did Slug here slap Mr Malfoy as accused?"

"Yes I did. He was in shock and I could not administer the treatment needed."

"I see. Anything that you would like to add, Captain?"

"Only that my team would only act in the interests of the mission."

"Thank you for your time then. I am sure that this matter will be dropped shortly." Fox signalled for Slug and Wolf to leave. They did so, bowing to Dumbledore before teleporting away.

"Yes?" asked Dumbledore. "Was there something else?"

"I was wondering how to get in contact with Konoha. To send a mission report."

"Oh, of course. There are a variety of owls in the Owlery that can be used. As long as you tell them the address, they will find the recipient."

"Thank you." Fox bowed, before teleporting away.

LINE

Stag slouched against the wall in the dungeons, appearing to be completely an utterly bored, but actually listening intently to the conversation in front of him. So far, he had not said a single word to any of the students apart from the first night. In fact, he had an arrangement that was, in his book, perfect. He appeared to ignore the students who in turn ignored him. This led to the students forgetting that he was there, and revealing nice juicy gossip that would make even Ino's eyes open. Nine times out of time the information remained useless and unnecessary, but occasionally it was useful.

The doors swung open, and Malfoy swaggered in. Despite it only being a scratch and Slug having healed him immediately, the boy had insisted that he be admitted straight in to the hospital wing to have it treated 'properly'. Slug had been slightly miffed that her healing skills had been doubted, and Fox had found himself explaining the sudden gap in the tree line when looking out over the Forbidden Forest.

As Malfoy strode in, acting in Harry's opinion as if he had survived some battle as opposed to have being scratched slightly.

"How is it Draco?" simpered Pansy Parkinson. "Does it hurt much?"

"Yeah," said Malfoy with a malevolent look towards Stag, Harry and Ron. Stag stared back with the same, bored look that he so often wore.

"Settle down, settle down," said Snape idly. There was some glaring from the Gryffindors at the lack of detention giving to Malfoy for interrupting the lesson, but soon they got back to making the shrinking solution.

"Sir," Malfoy called. "Sir, I'll need help cutting up my daisy roots because of my arm."

"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him." Said Snape without looking up. Ron went brick red and opened up to retort. Sensing an oncoming fight, Stag stood up straight with a sigh.

"I can do it, Snape-san." He sat down at the table, pulled out a kunai, and wordlessly began slicing the daisy roots.

"I hardly think that necessary-"

"Snape-san, if Weasley-kun cuts up Malfoy-san's roots, neither will finish their potion. Is that not the whole point of the lesson?" Snape opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again. Stag, who had raised an eyebrow, continued to slice the roots. "Thought so."

"And sir, I'll need help shredding this Shrivelfig," said Malfoy, furious at losing the opportunity to wind up Ron. Shikamaru pushed back the perfectly cut up daisy roots before shredding the fig.

"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" asked Malfoy after a while, as Stag slowly shredded the fig.

"None of your business," said Ron jerkily, not looking up.

"I'm afraid he's not going to be a teacher much longer. Father's not very happy about my injury." Stag coughed down his retort, and Malfoy's eyes flickered over to him.

"He's complained to the school governors about Hagrid, and our supposed guards."

"How interesting," drawled Stag, not rising to the challenge.

"Oh yes, Father is _very _influential."

"So you're only doing this to get people fired?" asked Harry through gritted teeth.

"Well, partly, Potter, but there are other benefits as well." Snape's voice punctuated the lowered conversation and hazy atmosphere of the dungeon.

"Orange, Longbottom." Stag looked up, and saw Snape allowing some of Neville's potion to splash back into the cauldron. Stag inwardly groaned. He hadn't seen something that obnoxious since his genin days, when Fox had favoured all orange jumpsuits. "Orange. Not green. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? That only a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"

Neville turned pink and started trembling. Stag rolled his eyes from the safety of behind his mask.

"Please sir," said Hermione, "please, I could help Neville put it right-"

"I don' t remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger. Longbottom, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of potion to your pet. That way, you may follow instructions." Snape swept back to the front of the room, and Neville immediately turned to Hermione.

"Hey, Harry," said Seamus Finnigan, leaning over to borrow Harry's scales. "Did you see the Prophet?"

"No, why?"

"He's been sighted! They reckon Sirius Black has been seen." Stag listened carefully to the conversation, storing possible information to tell Fox later on.

"Where?" said Harry quickly.

"Not too far from here. Muggle saw him, rang that hotline number, but by the time the Ministry got there he'd gone."

"Not too far from here…" he caught Malfoy looking. "What, did you want something?"

"Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Potter?"

"Yeah, that's right," said Harry off-handedly. Stag stiffened, but no one noticed.

"Off course, if it was me," said Malfoy quietly, "I would have done something by now. I would be out there looking for him."

"What are you talking about Malfoy?" asked Ron.

"Don't you _know_ Potter?" breathed Malfoy, his pale eyes narrowed. They seemed to have forgotten Stag, who was still paused, knife halfway to the caterpillar he was cutting up.

"Know what?"

Malfoy let out a low sneering laugh.

"Maybe you're scared, Potter. Want to leave it to the Dementors, don't you? But if it was me, I would want revenge-" The knife sliced through the caterpillar and embedded itself into the table with a low thud. Malfoy, Ron and Harry jumped, and turned to the forgotten guard who was giving off unintentional killing intent.

"Do not," he said low and cold, "talk about revenge like that. You do not understand _anything_, so until you do, don't act like you know." He pulled the knife out of the table with ease, shoved the caterpillars towards Malfoy and retreated back to the wall. Before Harry could say anything to Ron, Snape called out to the class.

"By now, you should have finished adding your final ingredients. The potion needs to stew before it is drunk; clear away now, and then we can test Longbottom's potion." There was a flurry of activity, and although Harry tried to talk to Ron, the guard's eyes followed him everywhere, and Harry decided not to risk it.

The end of the lesson in sight, Snape strode over to Neville, who was cowering by his cauldron.

"Everyone gather round," said Snape softly, his eyes glittering, "and we can see if Longbottom has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution." Snape picked up Trevor the toad and dipped a small spoon into Neville's now green potion. He trickled it down Trevor's throat.

There was a moment of hushed silence, and then a pop, and then Trevor the tadpole was wriggling in Snape's palm.

"Five points from Gryffindor," said Snape maliciously, "I told you not to help, Granger. Class dismissed."

There was a hurry to get out the room, and Stag followed Ron, Harry and Hermione climbing up the steps, discussing the injustice of Snape. Suddenly, Hermione disappeared and then hurried up to Ron and Harry, tucking what looked like a necklace into her robes. Her bag split, and books cascaded to the floor. Stag raised an eyebrow, and as he followed the three into the Great Hall, he found out that he wasn't the only one wondering what Hermione wasn't telling them.

LINE

After lunch, there was an unusual silence as the class waited for Professor Lupin, who was running late. Fox stood at the front of the classroom, sitting on the desk and watching the students, who stared apprehensively back. When he finally entered, several of the students on the first row were starting to sweat with the tension. Fox smirked.

"Ah… thank you, Captain." Fox nodded, slid off the desk and stood in a corner. "Good afternoon. You will not need you books or bags, today will be a practical lesson." There was an outbreak of curious chatter, and relief washed through Fox. He had always preferred practical lessons.

"Right then. Would you like to follow me?" He led them out of the door to the staffroom, Fox bringing up the rear. Peeves was loitering in front of the door, but one sight of Fox sent him zooming off, obviously remembering their last encounter.*

"Inside, please," said Lupin, gesturing to the class. The students filed in to a long, panelled room with mismatching chairs. Snape was the only occupant, but he stood up when Lupin entered. "Leave the door open, Lupin, I'd rather not witness this." He strode out, glaring at Fox who glared back. Lupin clapped his hands together.

"Right then. I need a volunteer… ah, Neville, do you mind me using you? Good, up you come then. Now, see that wardrobe?" Said wardrobe gave a sudden wobble. Fox's fingers reached towards his kunai holster.

"Nothing to worry about. In there is a Boggart." Instead of calming the students, the ones who understood eyed the wardrobe with horror.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, gaps beneath beds, cupboards under sinks… even grandfather clocks. _This _one moved in yesterday, but I managed to convince the Headmaster to leave it, to give you some practice. So, the first question is what _is _a Boggart?" Hermione's hand shot up.

"It's a shape shifter. It can take the form of whatever frightens us most." Fox straightened up, wondering what on _earth _could possibly scare these school kids.

"Excellently put. So the Boggart in there has not yet assumed a form, as he does not know yet what will frighten the person on the other side. However, we have an advantage. Harry, do you know what that is?"

"Er… there are more of us?"

"Precisely. That means that the Boggart will not know which form to take. Now, the charm to repel a Boggart is relatively simple, but requires a force of mind. You see, what really finishes off a Boggart is laughter. Force it to assume a shape that amuses you. Neville," called out Lupin, and said boy came trembling to the front. "What would you say frightens you most in the world?" Neville mumbled something. "Nice and clearly so that we can hear it."

"P- Professor Snape."

"Ah, Professor Snape. He scares a lot of us. Hmmm… Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother, correct?"

"Yes, but I don't want it to change into her, either!"

"No, Neville, you misunderstand me. Now, here is what I want you to do…" He bent down and whispered something in Neville's ear. Neville's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yes. Now, here is the incantation: _riddikulus_!" The class repeated the word. "Ready?" Neville nodded, gripping his wand. Lupin opened the wardrobe, and, with baited breath, the class watched as Snape stepped out of the wardrobe. It saw Neville, who whimpered, and strode towards him.

"_RIDDIKULUS!" _There was a crack, and the Boggart suddenly found itself as Snape wearing Neville's grandmother's clothes. There was a roar of laughter.

"Excellent, now, form a line, and we'll each take turns."

The class hurried to do so, and the boggart, confused, turned into a mummy, a banshee, a rat, a rattlesnake, a single eyeball, a spider…

Then it was Harry's turn. There was a crack, and a black swooping dementor came towards the class. Lupin moved forwards but he was too late. Fox had pushed Harry out the way, and there was another crack, a crack to a battle scene. Fox's eyes widened as they took in three dead bodies, Slug's, her pink hair strewn around her in a halo, Sasuke, his sword broken at his side, and Kakashi, a hole in his stomach. In the distance, he could see smoke rising from Konoha and the swish of a large, red tail…

Fox became rigid, a slight roaring going through his ears. He was dimly aware of the gasps from behind him, and then the image was gone, replaced by a silvery orb which Lupin dispersed with a flick of his wrist. There was silence as the guard stared at the spot where the scene had taken place, and then his head snapped up and he seemingly melted into the shadows. There was a tense pause before Lupin spoke again.

"Right. Well, ten points each to Harry, Hermione and Neville. Class dismissed."

**A/N: *Hides behind laptop* I'm sorry… school started, and this year is… well… tough. I haven't written in so long my fingers are out of practice. Anyway, as a little treat/apology, here is an omake:**

* Fox was walking from the Headmaster's office back to the Gryffindor common room. It was late, very late, but he had had to deal with a certain Fred and George Weasley and their pranks, and sort out patrols, and then deliver a report to Dumbledore. He was tired, slightly bored, and not in a good mood. He rounded a corner and something whizzed down from the ceiling. He side stepped, and a water balloon burst from the point right above where he had been standing. He looked up, and a transparent man whizzed down from the ceiling so that it was floating upside down and staring right into the holes of Fox's mask.

"Ooohh, Foxy's out for a midnight stroll. He thinks he's a guard, but who will guard the guard from little old Peevsey, hmm?" He cackled, and Fox disappeared. "You can run, but you can't hide, Foxy!"

"What makes you think that I am hiding?" called out Fox from a shadow.

" What makes you think I ran?" asked Fox again, from a different shadow.

"What makes you think I need guarding?" said Fox once more, this time from the ceiling. Peeves gulped.

"I suggest," said Fox one.

"That you don't underestimate us," called out Fox two.

"Because we are stronger than you think," said the final Fox. Peeves nodded, and zoomed away. Fox dispelled his two shadow clones and jumped down from the ceiling. He carried on walking towards the common room, smirking a little. He had a feeling that Peeves wouldn't be bothering him again.


End file.
